WESTERLY, RI — A yellow Labrador was out for a walk with his owner in Rhode Island and was rescued by firefighters on New Year’s Day after he wandered onto a thin sheet of ice covering a pond and fell into the center.
According to the Misquamicut Fire Department, volunteer firefighters and other emergency officials were dispatched early Thursday morning to the water rescue. Once firefighters arrived at the scene, they saw a dog named Phoenix struggling and unable to move to shore in the icy, melting water.
Members of the Misquamicut and Watch Hill fire departments donned ice rescue suits, which help protect the body from freezing temperatures, to enter the pond and successfully rescue Phoenix. The temperature reached 26 degrees Fahrenheit around 9 a.m. Thursday, with the wind chill dropping to 14 degrees, the National Weather Service reported.
“He was the coolest dog I’ve ever seen,” Misquamicott Fire Department Deputy Chief Steve Howard said in a phone interview Friday. “The dog never made a sound. He was very quiet.”
While the firefighters were evaluated for possible hypothermia, they did not require treatment. The fire department described the incident as a “successful first call of 2026,” in a statement posted on Facebook.
Phoenix was also declared injury-free, but Howard made sure to contact his owner later Thursday.
“He got a little extra food last night,” Howard said. “And take a little nap.”
The fire department warned that the incident was a reminder of the need to treat all types of ice as dangerous, especially on bodies of water.
“No ice is ever safe. Our firefighters train extensively in cold water and ice rescues, but these situations are extremely dangerous,” the fire department said.